Game 1 Box Score

Game 2 Box Score

WEST CHESTER, Pa. - The Shippensburg University baseball team clinched its third consecutive berth in the PSAC Baseball Tournament under head coach Matt Jones on Thursday afternoon at Serpico Stadium by splitting an Eastern Division doubleheader with the No. 7-ranked Golden Rams of West Chester. SU won the nightcap 13-5 after dropping the opener 9-3.

Shippensburg (23-28, 12-10 PSAC East) used an eight-run second inning to take control of game two, lacing eight consecutive one-out hits to tie a feat achieved by the team last year in a victory over Post. Senior Andrew Burke tossed a complete game in the nightcap for his sixth victory of the season.

"To come in here and take one from West Chester, who is probably one of the best teams in the league, on their field, is a good way to make up for game one," head coach Matt Jones said after the game. "The playoffs are a new season, and hopefully, we can make the most of that opportunity."

Junior designated hitter Rick Shumway continued swinging a torrid bat by going 4-for-5 in game two with a double, triple, three RBIs and three runs while sophomore shortstop Steve McCardell matched him with hits and RBIs. Eight of the starters had at least one hit in the game.

After a leadoff walk was followed by a strikeout, senior second baseman Kyle Rhoades began the streak with a single and that led to a stretch where seven consecutive batters delivered RBIs. The barrage was capped off by a two-run triple from freshman third baseman Ben Miller that gave Shippensburg a 9-0 lead.

Shippensburg plated four insurance runs in its final at-bat with a two-run triple from Shumway, an RBI-double by senior center fielder Tyler Redick and an RBI-single from McCardell. Redick was 2-for-5 in the game with two RBIs and two runs and finished the afternoon with three hits and three runs.

Freshman Cody Kulp was the offensive star of the opener by driving in all three of Shippensburg's runs. Kulp hit a two-run home run and an RBI-single to finish the opener 2-for-2 with a walk and the three RBIs. He also had an RBI-single and scored in game two's eight-run second inning.

Senior Jason Kelly took the loss in the first game, allowing seven runs in 3.2 innings of work. Freshman Jimmy Miller, junior Kyle Chronister and junior Phil Harnick pitched the final 2.1 innings and scattered two runs.

The Raiders will be the No. 3 seed entering the tournament that will be held from May 4-7 at Clipper Magazine Stadium in Lancaster. Even if Shippensburg were to lose both games on Friday and become tied this weekend with other teams, the Raiders would reign supreme by holding tiebreakers over the other opponents.  

According to the PSAC handbook in section IV B., the tiebreaker scenarios to determine tournament seeding and participants begins with head-to-head records. Shippensburg holds a tiebreaker over East Stroudsburg because it won the season series 3-1. This would potentially leave Mansfield and Millersville.

The second tiebreaker involves a team's record against conference teams proceeding downward until a tie is broken. The Raiders therefore hold a tiebreaker over Mansfield and Millersville because neither of those teams earned a victory against West Chester, the division's No. 1 seed.

This season marks the seventh consecutive tournament appearance for Shippensburg and the team's 10th overall over the past 11 years. It is the 26th time in school history that the Raiders will compete for the conference crown since the modern tournament structure was developed in 1971.

Shippensburg will host its senior day doubleheader on Friday afternoon from Fairchild Field to conclude the 2009 regular season. The game begins at 1 p.m. while the team is set to honor Burke, senior Tim Freshour, Harnick, Kelly, senior Sean Killian, senior Kasey Kuhns, Redick and Rhoades before the game. 

Notes: Since being moved into the leadoff spot by Coach Jones, Shumway has batted .342 in 10 games and posted a .390 on-base percentage, totaling 19 bases and scoring eight runs...Kulp has hit a remarkable .472 in the month of April while reaching base at a .517 clip and leads the team over that span in homers (two), RBIs (14), steals (three), and total bases (39).